The Secret Files
by strawberrysunsets
Summary: Avalyn Fawcett, an aspiring archaeologist, journeys with Ben and his trusty sidekick to find the Templar Treasure. When all goes wrong, and Ava sees a certain someone that she never wanted to have in her life ever again, a certain lovable geek fills a hole in her heart that she never knew she had. Riley/OC, Ben/OC
1. Bad Omen

I hugged myself. "W-when will we get there?"

"Assuming Ben's theory is correct," Riley, who was sitting next to me, bit his lip, "and my tracking model is accurate, we should be getting very close."

I could feel my teeth clattering loudly as he continued, "But don't go my me; I broke a shoelace this morning."

Everyone in the vehicle looked at him like he was nuts. Even Ben raised his eyebrow at him through the rear-view mirror. I just laughed. Well, as much as you can laugh when the temperature is -20 degrees celsius.

Riley bit his lip again. "It's a bad omen."

"Should we just turn around and go home?" Ian sighed in his British accent. As much as I loved his accent, he annoyed me so much. I glared at him.

"Or we could just pull over and just throw him out here," Ben joked.

"Don't be so pessimistic, both of you." I glared at Ben.

"Oh, Riley; you aren't missing that windowless cubicle we found you in, are you?"

"Oh, no. Absolutely not."

Riley's computer beeped.

"Shoveling time!" I grinned and I jumped from the snow plow. "Six months of non-stop research and digging up useless junk; and I finally found it," I sighed heavily.

"Oh, yeah?" Ben bickered. "Try twenty years."

I thought for a moment. I had had enough of univerty and archaeology; even though I had only just started. Ben had been doing this for almost two decades, yet he never gave up. He was my role model.

"You're a true inspiration, Ben." I grinned. "When you become famous for rediscovering the Charlotte, don't forget me."  
He chuckled for a moment. "Wait… rediscovering?"

"There had been letters sent to the vice-president at that time stating how they had uncovered The Charlotte. Not entirely sure what happened. They went missing shortly after that. I have been trying to find the legends and secrets that were passed down ever since I graduated."

Ben looked deep in thought, but Ian muttered, "You graduated half a year ago, Avalyn."

"Yes, I'm quite aware of that." I snapped. What was his problem with me?

He raised his hands up in mock defeat. That jerk!

"Don't worry about him, Avalyn. You'll get used to him eventually." Ben patted my back.

"I _highly_ doubt that!"

"Look, this is a huge waste of time." A shivering Shippen told Riley. "How could a ship wind up all the way out here? This place is a wasteland."

"Well, I'm no expert." Riley said to him. _Oh, here we go!_ "But it could be that the hydrothermal properties of this region produce hurricane force ice storms that cause the ocean to freeze, then melt, then refreeze, resulting in a semi-solid migrating land mass that would land a ship… right about here."

"Classic," I shook my head at Riley, who grinned sheepishly at me.

I heard an odd noise, and turned to look at Ben, who was staring at the snow. "Hello, beautiful." He whispered to the ground.

"Let's go find some treasure!" Ian clapped. Sheesh, these guys sounded like pirates!

We entered the ship's hold.

"Ahh, oh god! AHHHH!" Riley slipped and fell on top of me.

"You handled that well." Ben laughed as I got up and helped Riley back onto his feet.

"Handed what well?" I asked.

Ben pointed to a frozen skeleton. I screamed and grabbed Riley's arm. We were both shaking tremendously at this point. Ben just shook his head and walked up to Ian and Shaw.

"R-Riley…"  
"Yeah?" We were still clinging to each other in shook.

"That's… that's a dead person!"

"Come on, Avalyn," Ian laughed. "You're a forenzic anthropoligist. You basically work will dead people every day."

"I'm an archaeologist and paleontologist. I study dinosaur bones; not dead humans!"

He rolled his eyes and walked away.

"Now why would the captain be guarding this barrel…" Ben muttered to himself. "I found something!"

"What is it?" Riley and I both asked at the same time.

"Jinx!" I pointed to him, grinning.

"There's no time for games." Ian rolled his eyes.

"I'm only 19. Leave me alone!"

"Shhh!" Ben told us. "Do you guys know what this is?"

"Is it a billion dollar pipe?" Riley asked hopefully.

"It's a miashawn pipe…" I walked up closer to Ben, glancing wonderously at the artifact that was only a few inches away from my face. _Yes! _I thought._ I finally found something worthly for my report!_

"Ah, it's beautiful…" Ian sighed.

"Is it a _million_ dollar pipe?" Riley asked again.

"No, it's a clue… let me see that."

"Ben…" I warned.

"Don't break it!" Riley told him.

"Ben, I'm on his side here. You don't know if it's a clue or not. This could be the end of the line. Maybe this is the treasure?"

"No, Avalyn. It can't be the treausure. It can't be what I've been searching for for twenty years… We are one step closer to the treasure, gentleman… and lady."

"I thought you said the treasure would be on the Charlotte?" Ian asked, looking annoyed and frustrated.

"Ian…" I started, realising what the riddle actually meant.

"What?"

"The secret _lies_ with Charlotte…"

"Exactly." Ben stated. "I said it could be here, not would." Ben cut himself with a knife, and I almost puked from the sight.

"Not a fan of blood…" I covered my mouth in an attempt to stop myself from throwing up.

He scrolled the stem of the pen down a sheet of paper. A group of symbols and and old-fashioned writing appeared on it.

Ben and I read the words together.

"The legend writ;

The stain affected;

The key in Silence, undetected.

Fifty-five in iron pen;

Mr Matlack can't offend."

Ben started muttering words to himself, while I was wondering what the answer was.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when Ian asked, "Wait a minute, what do you mean invisible? An invisible map?"

"What?" I asked. I hadn't thought of the idea of an invisible map. "That can't be right…" I turned my head to the left to think.

"The stain affected could refer to a dye or reagent used to bring out a certain result."  
"Like those invisible ink pens? Where you shine the light on it to see what it says?" I asked Ben.

"Exactly." He nodded. "Now, the implication was to make what was undetectable, detectable. Unless the key in Silence could be…"

"Prison." Shaw shrugged.

"Alburquerque." Riley piped up, obviously refering to the random call of words. "See, I can do it too. Snorkel."

"Poptarts." I giggled. "Heh… Snorkel is a funny word."

"Can't we all just be serious for a moment?" Ian groaned. I glared at him. We were just having fun!

"It's where the map is. Like you said, fifty-five in iron pen. Iron pen is a prison."

"But why say iron pen? Why not just say gaol or iron cells, or simply just cells? It doesn't make sense…" I bit my lip.

"People don't even talk like that anymore!" Riley groaned. What a great help he was.

"Avalyn's right." Ben nodded to me. "It could be since the primary writing medium of the time was iron gull ink; the pen is just… a pen. They why not say a pen; why say iron pen?"

"Because it's a prison." Shaw said, keeping his cool.

I thought for a moment. Fifty-five in iron pen… could it mean fifty-five people wrote on something with a pen? No, no that couldn't be right… Fifty-five people signed something? It would have to be important or a specific law and order for fifty-five people to sign one thing. It must have been something vital, something key to make the world a better place; something… "The Declaration of Independence!" I gasped at myself. "That's it! Fifty-five people signed the Declaration. Is it saying that there is a map or an invisible code on the back of it?"

"That would be clever, really. A document of that importance would ensure the maps survival. And you said several masons signed it, yeah?"

"Nine for sure." Ben told him.

"We'll have to arrange a way to examine it…"

"What?" My jar dropped open. "Are you crazy? Goodness knows what would happen if we told anyone that we think there is a map on the back of it!"

"She's right." Riley agreed. "You would have to be mad to think that anyone would let you examine it."

"Oh well. We could borrow it."

"Borrow it?" I asked. "Without any permission or consent from the US government? I came to America six months ago. I'm sorry, but I do not want a black mark on my record! I study at Harvards, for goodness sakes!"

"You're not American?" Riley asked.

"What? Are you a rascist?"

"No, I'm just, it's just… you're not American."

"I'm from Australia. Now can we please get back to the subject?"

"Avalyn; Ben. The treasure of the Knights Templar is the treasure of all treasures. Avalyn, do you want to ace you're exams? You need to find an artifacts from the 1800's, examine it and write a report to become an archaeologist."

"I'm already a paleontologist. I could always stick with that instead of getting my PHD…"

"You know you want to ace this. The only way you could do this is to find the Knights Templar treasure."  
I bit my lip. "We don't need to find that. We already found that million dollar pipe."

"It's covered it blood."

"We could wash it."

Ben obviously noticed the tension between us so he stepped in. "Ian, it has to be handed into a museum. I think we should just…"

"Ben, we all have our areas of expertise. You don't think mine is limited to writing Sheakstean, do you? Why, I've arranged a number of operations of questionable legality."

"I don't like where this is going…" Riley mumbled. I nodded, crossing my arms in confusion.

"I would take his word for it." Shaw told Ben.

"Don't worry; I'll make all the arrangements."

I couldn't have just let Ian and Shaw gang up against Ben like that. He worked so hard for all those years. He didn't deserve that at all.

"No." I said firmly.

"I really need your help here, too, Avalyn."

"I said no! Do you not understand how bad this is for all of us? We could risk a red mark on our criminal records. You don't understand how bad this is!"

"You can't just waltz in there and steal it!" Ben told them.

"This is like stealing the Mona Lisa!" Riley back me up too; thank goodness.

"Actually," I started. "The Mona Lisa was actually stolen in August 1911. Someone actually just waltzed in there a took it. He was captured, and now the Mona Lisa is hidden behind six inches of bullet-proof glass. True story."

"This isn't time for your little fun facts, Avalyn. This is a serious matter." Ian told me.

"You really don't get it, do you? You don't understand what I'm getting at?" He shook his head and I groaned in disappointment. "If they realise that you, or anyone, is planning to steal it, they will keep it locked up and hidden even more than it already is. Are you willing to put your life, and the Declaration, on the line just for some measly treasure?"

Shaw pulled out a gun, after Ian nodded towards him, and pointed it at Ben.

"Hey!" Riley put his hands up.

"What are you going to do? Are you going to shoot me, Shaw? Well, you can't shoot me. There's more to the riddle. Information you don't have, I do. I am the only one who can figure it out and you know that."

"He's bluffing."  
"We played poker together you know I can't bluff."

"Tell me what I need to know or I'll shoot you're useless friend." He pointed the gun at Riley.

"Hey!" He said again.

"Quiet, Riley; you're job is done. Make another sound and I'll shoot both you're girlfriend and you!"

"Hey!" I was the one that said that this time.

Before I could say another word, I saw Ben light up a flare.

"BEN!" I warned once again. "Don't you dare blow up this ship!"

He ignored me. "Look at where you're standing. You shoot me, I drop this, we all go up."

"Ben…" Riley also warned.

"What happens when the flare burns down? Tell me what I need to know, Ben!"

"You need to know… how to shock and catch!" Ben tossed the flare at Ian, but he surprisingly caught it.

"Nice try though, Ben." Ian laughed, but then dropped the flare when his arm caught on fire.

"Get out, Shaw!" Ian pushed him as the room started to ignite.

"Come on, get over here!" Ben motioned us over.

Just before Riley could question what was happening, I caught on what Ben wanted us to do. "It's a smugglers hold. Riley, get i– ahhhh!"

Ben pushed me in before I could push Riley in.

We all gasped as we emerged from the wreckage.

"You know," I coughed, trying to get the snow, dust and smoke out of my lungs, "I'm pretty sure a ship blowing up while you're in it is also a bad omen."

Ben looked around, ignoring me. "There's an Inuit village about nine miles east of here. It's popular with push pilots."

My jar dropped open. "Nine miles? That's like…"

"Fifteen kilometres."

I sighed. "Crap."

"What are we going to do?" Riley asked.

"Start making our way back home."

"No, I meant about Ian. He is going to steal the Declaration of Independence."

"We stop him."

"Stop him?" I asked. "How are we going to stop him? We should just not get into this whole mess. Let the FBI handle him."

"They won't." Ben told me, shaking off the snow from his parker.

"What? What do you mean?"

"You don't know Ian. He won't give up."

"Neither will I. I won't give up on my PHD, Ben. I can't do this. I've keep a clean record for the two decades of my life. If I end that record now, I won't be able to finish my studies at Harvard. Then where will I go? What job will I get if I get kicked out of university, Ben?"

"You'll come work with Riley and I."

"I dunno, Ben…"

"If we find the Templar Treasure, you won't ever have to work again."  
"That's true…" Riley agreed. "It's worth billions; trillions maybe."

There was a long pause, but I finally gave in. "A'ight. I'm in."


	2. Passion

_Here is the second chapter! I hope you enjoy it :)_

_- Lollie_

* * *

Ben, Riley and I left the FBI building.

"Well, that didn't work out quite like I expected." I sighed.

"Is it really so hard to believe that someone is going to steal the Declaration of Independence?" Riley asked.

"The FBI get 100,000 tips a week," Ben stated. "They aren't going to worry about something they're sure is safe.

"But anyone that can do anything is going to think that we're crazy!" Riley complained. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. "And anyone crazy enough to believe us isn't going to want to help."

"We don't need someone crazy," Ben told us, "One step short of crazy and what do you get?"

"Delusional?" I guessed.

Riley snorted at the stupid question. "Obsessed?"

"Foolish?" I guessed again.

"Passionate!" Ben corrected us.

* * *

"Dr Pargman can see you now, Mr Brown." The secretary at the National Archive told Ben.

"Mr Brown?"

"Family name doesn't get a lot of respect in the acedemic community."

"Question!" I heard Riley say just before they entered the room. "Why isn't Avalyn coming with us?" The door closed behind Ben and Riley, and I sighed.

I remembered how Riley and I first met. Ben introduced him to me a few months back, right after my sister stole my book. It's a long story, but I can handle the memory. Even so, I remember how I only just quit being an author when I met Riley. I didn't tell him the full story of why I quit, but I guess I might fill him in on the details later on.

_(Flashback)_

_Avalyn grinned as she stuck out her hand, to which Riley did the same. They shook hands. "Hi, I'm Avalyn Fawcett."_

_Riley's hand snapped back next to his hip. "Wait… the Avalyn Fawcett? The writer?"_

_Riley's mouth fell open._

_"Former writer," Avalyn stuttered through gritted teeth, "current archaeologist."_

_"What? Why did you stop writing?"_

_Ben noticed that Avalyn didn't seem to want to talk about that topic. He didn't know why why, but he was pretty sure she was feeling very uncomfortable. _

_"Why don't I go show you around to the others? Ian is very excited to see you."_

_(End of Flashback)_

The truth was, I didn't want to go with Ben and Riley because Dr Vivian Pargman was my sister. Not only was I mad at her, it would have affected our whole mission. I haven't seen her for almost a year, and I didn't plan to do so anytime soon.

Viv recently got married to James Pargman. Surprisingly, I was invited to the wedding, but I obviously didn't go. After all, Viv stole my book! I had just finished my book, Hidden Secrets, and was waiting for the call from the editor. Unfortunately, Vivian somehow got a hold of my agent and then, after their little illegal meeting, it had her name at the bottom of the front cover. I didn't even know how that worked, but it did. My agent and Vivian teamed up and went against me, for reasons I couldn't even comprehend. She eventually got a full time job at the National Archives and she wrote a few short books every now and again. I never forgave her – and I didn't plan to.

* * *

Once Ben and Riley left my sisters office, we went to see the Declaration first-hand.

"Ben," Riley said, "If it's any consolidation, you had me convinced."

"It's not."

"I was thinking, what if we go public?" Riley suggested. "Flash this story all over the internet. It's not like we have our reputations to worry about."

"I do!" I defended. "I told you before; I won't be able to finish university if they expel me for thinking I'm some psychopathic burgalar!"

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"You're the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"

"That doesn't even make sense!" Riley rolled his eyes.

"You don't make sense."

"You're just being childish…"

"I know you are but what am I?" I smirked.

"My point exactly." Riley stated. Ben was just watching us with his eyebrows going lower and lower at everything we said.

"You're childish too, so that argument is invalid."

There was a long pause, and then Riley admitted in defeat, "Touche…"

"How old are you again?" Ben asked.

"Chill, Ben. It's just harmless banter." Riley joked.

"I don't care. Can you both stop being freaks for five minutes so we can work this out?"

"Work what out?" I asked, but he ignored me. Typical… "Ben? Work what out?"

"180 years of searching and I'm three feet away. All of the ideas that became the United States. There is a line here that is at the heart of all the others. But when a long train of abuses and years of patience perusing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right it is their duty to throw of such government and provide new guards for their future security. People don't talk that way anymore."

"Beautiful…" Riley sighed. "Huh, no idea what you said."

"I don't even know what half the words you said actually meant." I told him.

"And you're a writer?" Riley snorted in a matter-of-fact kind of way.

"Shut up." I elbowed him in the ribs, making him wince.

"It means if something is wrong, those that have the ability to take action have the responsibility to take action. I'm going to steal it."

"What?" Riley and I asked in unison. I almost fell over from the shock.

"I'm going to steal the Declaration of Independence."

"Uh, Ben?" Riley warned.

"You know there are cameras in here, right? Recorders?" I asked.

"What?" Ben asked.

"I don't mean to be paranoid, buuuut... they're watching us." I ducked, hiding behind him and trying to let the cameras not see my face.

"You're a freak." Riley grinned.

"Says you!" I pulled a puppy dog face while pulling my hoodie over my head.

"Seriously." Ben pulled a face. "That's getting annoying."

"You're getting annoying." Riley said.

I grinned and pulled a proud face. "I've taught you well."

* * *

"This is huge, prison huge! You're going to go to prison, you know that?" Riley was on the verge of a panic attack. Me, on the other hand, was _already_ hyperventilating.

"Yeah, probably." Ben shrugged.

"That bothers most people…"

"How can you stay calm?" I asked Ben. "You're crazy lunatic, you know that?"

"Yeah, I know."

I grinned. "But, you're also a passionate lunatic."

Ben smiled back, and then continued. "Ian's going to try and steal it, and if he succeeds, he will destroy the Declaration."

"So the only way to save the Declaration is to steal it. That makes sense." I said.

"No it doesn't!" Riley argued.

"It was sarcasm, you dipstick."

"I don't think there's a choice…" Ben sighed.

"Ben, for god's sakes, it's like stealing a national monument!" Riley yelled. "It's like stealing him! It can't be done. It's not that it shouldn't be done; it can't be done!"

"He's right, Ben." I shrugged. "It really can't be done."

"Yep. Let me show you." Riley told him.

* * *

"Okay Ben, pay attention." Riley started. I was too busy running around taking photos of the library to pay much attention, but I still listened. "We brought to the Library of Congress. Why? Because it's the biggest library in the world. Over 20 million books."

"Wow…" I exhale. I couldn't believe that I was really there!

"And they're all saying the same thing. Listen to Riley and Avalyn. What we have here my friend is an entire layout of the Archives. We've got builders blue prints, construction orders, phone lines, water and sewage."

I walked up to them and sat on the seat next to Ben. "When the Declaration is on display," Riley continued, "it is surrounded by guards and cameras, little families from Iowa and kids on their 8th grade field trip."

I laughed at that.

"And beneath an inch of bullet-proof glass, is an army of sensors and heat monitors that go off if someone gets too close with a high fever."

"And," I turned to Ben. "when it's not on display it is lowered into a 4 feet thick concrete steal plated vault that just so happens to be equipped with an electronic combination lock and biometric access and denial systems."

"You know Thomas Edison tried and nearly failed 2000 times to develop a carbonized cotton filament for the incandesant light bulb."

"That's nice," I said, "but what does that have to do with this?"

"When asked about it, he said, 'I didn't fail, I found out 2000 ways how not to make a light bulb', but he only needed to find one way to make it work. Do you know what the perservation room is for?"

"Delicious jams and jellies?" Riley suggested. I put my head in my hands, worrying about the consequences of this if it went wrong.

"That's where they clean, repair and maintain the documents and storage housings when they aren't on display or in the vault. Now, when the case needs work, they take it out of the vault and directly across the hall into the presevation room."

"Ahh," I bit my lip. "I get it. You think Ian will want to take it at the gala this weekend?"

"Yes. The guards will be distracted by the VIP upstairs. But we'll make our way to the preservation room where there is much less security."

"You really are passionate about this whole thing, aren't you?" I asked Ben.

"You know it!"

"Huh… if Ian… preservation room… gala…" Riley seemed to be in deep thought. "This might actually work…"

Ben nodded. "It might…"


	3. Our Evil Plan Is Working

Ben went to start up his plan while Riley and I stayed in the van playing cards to entertain ourselves.

"Riley, Avalyn; can you hear me?" We heard Ben through the speakers.

"Just a minute…"

"Go fish." I said.

"Huh… yes, we can here you, Ben."

I sneezed.

"Pineapple!"

I glared at Riley. "That only works before you sneeze, Riley."

"Oh…"

I sighed. Why was I dragged into this? I didn't think it was worth it.

"This is going to be tough..." I heard Riley mutter to himself.

"What is?" I asked.

"Not only is taking the Declaration hard, but keeping it away from both Ian and the cops will be even harder. Especially since we have to run tests to find this 'map'."

"What?" I practically yelled. "No, no, no! I don't think that's a good idea right now. I think we should just take the Declaration and give it back in a few weeks when Ian is in jail."

"That's stupid." Riley mumbled.

For once, I ignored him. "But actually keeping the Declaration to find the treasure will get us in even worse trouble!"

"I'm in." Ben said.

"What? You want to play cards?" I asked. I could practically see him rolling his eyes when he sighed.

"How do you look?" Riley asked.

"Not bad."

"Mozeltov."

"What does that mean?" I asked. Riley just chuckled and continued what he was doing.

We heard some voices coming from the speaker.

"Is that Avalyns' sister?" Riley asked.

"What?" My mouth practically fell open. How did he know?

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. The mean declaration lady looks exactly like you. Exactly!"

"Exactly?"

"Exactly. Well, she has brown hair and a longer, skinnier nose. And shes like ten years older."

"Five."

"What?" Riley raised his eyebrow. Crap, why did I do that? WHY?

"Nothing…"

We heard Ben say "hi there" to someone.

"Who's that?" I asked.

"Yeah, who's the stiff?" I rolled my eyes at Riley.

After Ben say goodbye to Abigail and some guy, he headed away from the crowd, Riley mumbled, "This better work."

"Hey, you're the one who was pestering me on my pessimistic personality, so don't you dare turn into me." I pointed at him accusingly.

"Actually," Ben pointed out, "that was me. Okay, I'm here."

"Okay, Give us the letters." I moved closer to the speaker in order to hear him more.

"A, E, F, G, L, O, R, V, Y."

"What the heck is that?"

"Anagrams are being listed," Riley bit his lip. "Okay, top results: A glove fry, a very golf, fargo levy, gravy flow, val…"

"Ben!" I tried to get his attention.

"Yeah?"

"Valley Forge."

"Are you sure?" Riley asked. "That isn't on my computer."

"Ahh, exactly! She pressed the L and E twice." Ben replied. "You're a genius, Avalyn."  
"I know," I laughed. "I try my best."

"Woah, woah, woah!" Riley started clicking furiously at his computer. "I lost my feed. I don't know where anyone is! I have nothing! Get out of there!"

"I'm taking the whole thing with me. I'll get it out in the elavator."

"What are you talking…" Riley's eye got big. "Is it heavy?"

We heard a banging noise. I almost fell off my chair.

"What the heck was that, Riley?" I asked, climbing back on my chair.

"Someone's shooting. Who's shooting, Ben?"

"I'm in the elavator. Ian's here. He's shooting."

"Ugh," Riley groaned, "I hate that guy."

* * *

"Where the heck is he?" I asked.

"I dunno."

"I'm gonna go look for him." I stepped toward the doors, but Riley grabbed my arm.

"Dude!" He told me. "Ian's out there."

"One," I put my index finger up, "I can always punch him in the face if he comes near me… and two, don't call me dude."  
He chuckled.

I sat up. "What's so funny?"

"You wouldn't dare punch him in the face."

"One day, I will. And you'll be like, 'OMG, Avalyn!, you're so cool! I love you so much because of your total awesomeness'!"

"Ha, ha!" He fake laughed sarcastically. "You're so funny."

"I know right!"

After a few minutes of arguing over nothing, I got sick of the wait.

"Ben, where are you?" I asked.

"Start the van."

"What? Now?"

"Yes, now! Get it running!"

Riley turned the engine on.

"Uh, Ben, mean declaration lady is behind you."

"Uh, oh; uh oh…" I started panicking.

"Why are you wheezing? You don't even know how mean she is!" Riley huffed.

"Oh, I think I might."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Avalyn," he sighed, "that's the second time today you've acted unusally suspicious. What's going on?"

"Unusually suspicious? Am I suspicious normally?"

"Don't change the subject."

"Then stop accusing me!"

He glared for a moment. "Touche, my friend; touche."

"Don't call me 'friend', either. It weirds me out."

"You weird me out."

"Shut up."

"Nice comeback, Avalyn!" He laughed.

"SHUT UP!" I yelled. "Can you hear that siren?"

There was a long pause, and then he sighed exasperatingly. "Crap."

Ben climbed in. "Go!"

"What?"

"You heard him." I ushered Riley toward the wheel. "Drive, Einstien! Drive!" He choose not to argue with me and did what I said. That was a first.

"Wait, no hold it. Bad. No, bad. Bad, bad, bad!"

"Make your mind up, Ben!" I cried out. I was on the verge of tears. I was having a full on panic attack.

"Once we catch them what are we going to do?" Riley asked.

Ben and I both replied, "We're working on it!"

I wasn't even sure if we were chasing Ian or running away from him at that point. I was so confused.

"Right turn, right turn. Skidding, skidding skidding." Riley was freaking out as well. I have to admit, though, he drived like he was in Grand Theft Auto. That wasn't a bad thing, since we were trying to drive as fast as we could.

"Shut up, I'm thinking!" I closed my eyes and pressed my fingers to my temples.

I heard Ben and Riley gasping. "Oh no!"

"Holy lord!"

I opened my eyes to see my sister dangling off of the other van's doors. "VIV!"

"What?" Riley asked. "What, what, what? You know her?"

Ben managed to get Vivian into the van. "Those lunatics, they stole…"

I bit my lip and turned around so I wouldn't have to face her once again.

"You're not hurt are you?" Ben asked.

"You're all lunatics…." Viv complained. "Except..."

I turned around slowly. She had obviously noticed my presense.

"Avalyn. I thought so."

"What?" Ben asked.

"Yeah, that was my first thought, too." Riley exhaled deeply.

"Hello sister."

I glared at her. How dare she talk to me after everything that happened. I haven't even forgiven her yet!

"This is cryptic…" Riley observed.

"What does that even mean?" Both Viv and I asked.

"Yep, they're related."

"Shut up and drive, Riley." Ben told him.

"I concur!" I agreed with Ben.

"You're all lunatics." Viv pointed at us all. "And not only because you speak gibberish."

"It's called English!" I glared at her. "Learn it sometime, considering you're a _writer_." I spat sarcastically.

"You're the writer," Viv shrugged. "I just took your book… You're getting better at sarcasm. Mozel tov."

"Seriously," I turned to Riley, "what does that even mean?"

"It was fraud. You know that. Why can't you just forgive me already?" Viv yelled, ignoring my question completely.

"Why can't you just give me back my life!"

There was a long pause, and Ben broke the silence. "You hungry?"

"What?" Viv snapped.

"Are you alright?"

"Still a little on the edge from being shot at," Riley answered in an annoyed tone, "but I'll be alright. Thanks for asking."

"Well, I'm not alright! Those men have the Delaration of Independence!"

"She lost it?" Riley choked up.

"They don't have it." Ben showed the Declaration. "See? Okay? Now please stop shouting."

"Give me that!" Viv tried to snatch the Declaration.

"You're still shouting and it's really starting to annoy me."

"What did those men get?"

"What?" I stepped forward.

"If we have the Declaration, what do they have?"

"A souvenir." Ben stated proudly. "I thought it might be a good idea to have a duplicate. Turned out I was right. Actually I had to pay for both the souvenir and the original so you owe me 35 dollars plus tax."

"Genius," Riley grinned.

"Brilliant," I laughed.

"You!" Viv turned to me and pointed her slender finger in my face. I glanced at her perfectly manicured nails and thought, _I could have had that. _"Shut up!"

"Hey!" Riley warned. "Don't talk to her like that. I'm the only one allowed to talk to her like that!"

"Riley," Ben also warned, "Maybe you should be the one to shut up."

"What?" He choked. "Tell that to the mean Declaration lady!"

"Ladies, ladies; you're both pretty. Can we go shoot down Ian now?" I insisted.

Riley chuckled. Ben put his finger over his lips, trying to think. "I love your optimisim, Avalyn, but these men are very dangerous. You should probably stay at my dads' place with your sister until Riley and I stop them completely."

"What?" I choked. "Am I that much of a burden to you, Ben?"

"What? No! That's not what I meant at all!"

"Then why can't I come with you?"

"A few minutes ago you didn't even want to come! Besides, I want you to be safe. I don't want you to get hurt, or even miss out on your chance to stay in college."

"I don't care." I told him. I honestly wouldn't like to be safe if there was even the slightest possiblity of either of them getting hurt. "If you guys are going, I am."

"I don't think you should go, Avalyn..." Riley bit his lip. "You could get hurt."

"What? And you guys are invincible?"

"No." Riley shook his head calmly. "But I don't know what I would do if you got hurt..."

I bit my lip and put my head down, thinking about it. Did Ben and Riley really care that much about me? "It's just... I don't want you guys to get hurt either. I want to be there with you to find the treasure. I don't want you guys to forget me... After all, I need to do this to. Not only for you or for the Declaration, but for my career."

There was a long silence, until Ben finally nodded. "Alright. I suppose you can come, but you sister can't. She's too much trouble, anyway."

"No!" Viv put her hand up to motion Ben to stop talking. "I already saw your faces. I could turn you in right now, but I won't. You know why? Because I want to join you. I want in on this 'treasure'. I'm going as well. And I will retrieve the Declaration from you, and these other men, even if it kills me."

"You said the same thing about my book." I rolled my eyes.

Viv growled at me. "Will you get over that already?"

"I won't get over what my life was supposed to be!"

The next thing I knew, I was on the ground with a pounding pain on the side of my face and a kick to the stomach.


	4. It Was All Worth It

"Avalyn! Avalyn, wake up!" I heard Rileys' voice. I fluttered my eyes open and the first thing I noticed was my inability to breath. I gasped as I tried to breathe in air. I sat up slowly as Riley handed me a bottle of water.

"You okay?" He asked. I nodded as an answer.

"This is bad, this is really bad…" I saw Ben walking back and forth in the van.

"Ya think? My sister is half dead." Viv growled.

"Hey!" Riley yelled, but he lowered his voice a bit when he noticed how confused I looked. He turned back to Viv. "This is your fault!"

"She started it!" She pointed to me.

"Me?" I winced as Riley put his arm over my shoulder.

He quickly snapped it back away. "Sorry."

"And I'm ending it." Ben pushed her out of the way and bent down beside me.

"How are you feeling?" He whispered softly.

"Alright." I mumbled. "What happened?"

Riley and Ben glanced at each other. Ben rubbed the back of his neck as Riley bit his lip and looked down.

"G-guys? You're scaring me. Am I dying?"

"Uhm," Ben muttered. "Your sister kind of got mad and decided that beating you would be a better alternative than reasoning."

"What?!" My jaw dropped. "She hit me?" I felt my cheek. It was cold, probably from an ice pack that was put on my face while I was unconscious, although it felt like it was burning inside.

"Yes, and Riley, being the immature child that he is, kind of hit her back…" Ben bit his lip.

Viv pucked her lips together and pointed to her eye. It was blue and purple.

"Ouch," I sighed.

"Well, she deserved it!"

Everyone looked at Riley.

"You shouldn't hit girls, Riley." Ben told him.

"Sorry…" He said again, looking down.

"You can't talk; you weren't supposed to steal the Declaration, Ben." I warned him.

"You!" Vivian pointed at my face again. "Weren't supposed to help these lunatics steal the Declaration, either!"

"And," Riley put his finger up to conclude, staring at Viv like she was a muddy pig, "you're not supposed to be here."

There was an awkward silence. "Well…" I said, trying to change the subject, so that my sister wouldn't beat Riley up. "What now?"

"We have to crash Bens' dads' place."

I raised my eyebrows at Riley. "You've got to be kidding me.."

Ben sighed. "This is going to be tough…"

"I don't think that's a good idea…" Viv bit her lip.

"You're not the only one," I mumbled.

"You know what?" Riley glared at my sister. This couldn't be good. "It wasn't a good idea to go see you in the first place, you… you… mean declaration lady!"

Viv gasped as Ben and I turned to look at each other worryingly.

Riley continued. "You've been nothing but trouble! You're just…"

"Riley!" Ben and I each grabbed an arm and pulled him away, before he didn't something that he would regret. That wouldn't be the first time…

He must have really hated her. Ben and I finally let go, but Ben just couldn't help but tell him off. "Riley, don't do anything stupid."

"It wasn't stupid." Riley argued.

"But you would have regretted it." Ben told him calmly.

"No I wouldn't."

This time it was Viv who broke the silence. She pulled her best puppy dog face and asked, "Why do you hate me so much?"

"Spear me…" I rolled my eyes.

"What was that?" Her head turned and snapped toward me.

"Nothing."

"Avalyn!" Riley held my upper arm with one hand. "You shouldn't have to be scared of your sister. This isn't right."

"You jerk! She's not scared of me!" Viv spat at him, but then looked at me with sweet, loving eyes. That's a bit hypocrtical. She was definitely trying to scare me. "Right, Avalyn?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but Riley beat me to it. "Are you bipolar?"

I couldn't help but cackle at that question.

Ben stepped in when he heard Viv growl. If looks could kill, Riley would have been on the ground twitching and choking with his tongue out right at that time. "Let's go inside, we've been here for about twenty minutes now."

We all stepped out of the van. "I do not want to do this…"

"You're not the only one," Riley looked at me. He didn't look happy, or sad… he looked sympathetic. Why was he actually feeling sympathetic?

* * *

"Dad." Ben smiled as Mr Gates opened the door.

"Where's the party?" That was the first thing he said.

"Huh?" I asked.

"Uh," Ben started, "I'm in a bit of trouble."

"Is she pregnant?" Mr Gates looked at Viv.

Viv's mouth dropped open and she looked at Riley and I with wide eyes. "I look pregnant?"

I shook my head as Riley told her, "No, but you look pretty beaten up."

Ben told his dad, "If she is, are you going to leave the woman carrying your grandchild standing out in the cold?"

We walked into the house. "Well, have a seat; make youselves at home. There's some pizza…" As soon as Mr Gates said that, both Riley and I ran toward the table.

"Pigs," Viv stared at us. We both glared at her.

"Dad…" Ben inhaled, getting ready for the response. "I need the Silence Dogood letters. It's about the treasure."

"And he dragged you lot into this?" Mr Gates asked.

"Literally," Viv glared.

"Kicking and screaming." Riley joked, earning another glare from Viv.

"We volunteered…" I pointed to Riley and myself.

"Well, unvolunteer; before you waste your life."

"Mr Gates…" I stepped toward him.

"You can call me Patrick."

"Patrick." I corrected myself. "It's been six months since I graduated. Six months since I quit my job. Six months since I started looking for this treasure. It took twenty years for Ben to find it, but only six months for me. You know why?"

Patrick shook his head, and I continued. "Because he is the reason I'm here."

"What?" Ben, Riley and Viv all asked.

"If Ben hadn't let me journey with him, I would still me sitting in a windowless cubicle writing adventure/romance novels that wouldn't even have made it to being published. If I had started alone, without Ben's help, it would have also taken me twenty years, perhaps even longer, for me to find the treasure. But, since Ben was here to help me, and guide me with his experience, it only took me six months. Mr Gates… Patrick, sorry… your son has safed me from wasting my life."

There was a long pause, but I still had more to say. "If Ben hadn't been interested in the treasure, I would still be looking for it, 19.5 years from now. You may not understand what I'm about to say, but Ben… he saved both Riley's life and mine. We wouldn't be this close to the treasure if it wasn't for him."

That was a magnificent speech, if I do say so myself. I swear I even saw tears in both Riley and Ben's eyes!

Sadly, Mr Gates found that a little too hard to believe.

"Get out."

"What?" I asked. I just lectured him on a huge speech about how much Ben deserved, and he told me to get out?

"Mr Gates…" I started.

"Get out, you lowlifes!"

This time it was Ben who stepped in. "We found The Charlotte!"

"The Charlotte? You mean she was a ship?"

"Yes, and she was beautiful, Dad."

"So you found the treasure?"

"Uhm," Ben paused. "No, no… but we found another clue that led us here."

"And that will lead you to another clue." Mr Gates sighed, annoyed that his son wasn't getting the message. "And that's all you'll ever find, is another clue. Don't you get it Ben? I finally figured it out. The legend said the treasure was buried to keep it from the British. But what really happened was the legend was invented to keep the British occupied searching for te buried treasure. The treasure is a myth."

"I refuse to believe that."

"As do I." I smiled.

"Me too." Riley beamed.

"Well believe what you want. You're a grown person. What am I doing? Do what you want, Ben; do what you want."

"He's right, Ben." Viv shrugged.

"He may be right…" I told Viv. "But that won't stop us from trying."

"Yes," Ben said, "And I can think of a way that we can find out. And we can find out right now."


	5. Phone Call

_Here is the next chapter! :0 I hope you enjoy! Review please :]_

_- Lollie_

* * *

We prepared to run some tests on the Declaration.

"It looks like animal skin." Mr Gates smiled proudly. "How old is it?"

"At least 200 years." Ben told him, continuing to get the experiment ready.

"Now," Riley stared at the Declaration, "if this thing is invisible ink, how do we look at it?"

"Heat?" I suggested.

"Hmm…" Ben wondered.

"Throw it in the oven."

"No!" Ben, Riley and Viv stared at him like he was crazy.

"He's right." I told them, earning myself a few glares. "Maybe not the oven… but…" I turned to look at Mr Gates. "Do you have a hairdryer? Perhaps that could work after we squeeze a bit of lemon juice on it."

"Actually…" Riley looked at me. "You may be right."  
"She's not right; she's crazy!" Viv snarled.

"And what does that make you?" Riley snorted.

I laughed at them. "You really don't like each other, do you?"

"Lemons." Ben ordered, snapping us out of our banter.

"Oh, right." I moved the bowl closer to him.

After he squeezed a few drops at the top-right corner, it slowly faded.

"Hmph…" Ben thought out loud.

I leaned in closer and softly blew on it.

"What are you do…" Riley's mouth fell open as the code came back.

"Told you." I shrugged.

"We need more juice…" Ben muttered.

"We need more heat." Viv corrected.

"We need more duck tape!" Riley joked.

After Viv realised what he was implying, she groaned miserably. "Why are you even here? Useless dip stick…"

"Excuse me?" Ben stared at her. "Focus, Viv. You want to help us, right?"

"Of course."

"Then actually help!" Riley moaned, obviously annoyed by her.

"Hmmm…" I wondered, pointing to the numbers. "What are those?"

"Latitudes and longitudes?" Riley guessed.

"I was thinking that… but why? Why would they want to send us to these many places?"

"Can someone please explain to me what these magic numbers are?"

"It's an andor ciper…" Ben told us.

"Of course!" Viv threw her head back.

"You know what that is?" I asked her.

"No… It just seemed like I should've…"

"Pffft!" Riley shook his head.

"What?" She glared at him.

Luckily for Ben, I had better things to do that break those two apart. I decided to help him, even with the little help I could've brought.

"Each of these numbers corresponds to a word in the key…" Ben told me.

"Oh, I get it!" I leaned back on my chair. "Like the page number, the line on the page and the letter on the line?"

"Yes… In this case the Silence Dogood letters. Dad, where are the letters."

"You know, it's just by sheer happenstance that his grandfather…" Mr Gates started.

"Dad…"

"Even found those. They were in an antique desk in the press room…"

"Dad…"

"From the New England Current."

"Well…" Viv whispered to me. "I can tell this isn't going to be good. I'll be in the van."

I looked at her weird, and then nodded. "Can I come?"

"If you want. I just need some quiet time though. I need to sort out some things."

I nodded again as she walked outside.

I saw her walk slowly to the van and opened the door slightly, squeezing herself inside.

I can't believe we dragged both Mr Gates and Viv into this whole mess. If she doesn't even care about the Declaration… why does she want to help us?

I was snapped back into reality when I heard Mr Gates say to Ben, "What have you done? This is… this is…"

Oh my goodness… We're dead.

"I know, I know!" Ben told him.

"The Declaration of Independence…"

"Yes…" I say to him softly. "And it's _very_ delicate…"

"You stole it!"

I bit my lip and stayed quiet. This wasn't good…

Riley pointed to Ben.

"Dad, I can explain but I don't have time." Ben sighed. "It was necessary… And you saw the ciper."

"And that will lead to another clue! And that will lead to another clue. There is no treasure. I've wasted 20 years of my life… and now you've destroyed yours… and you've pulled me into all this…"

This was getting too much. I was starting to get worried for Viv. Why did she just run away like that? I suddenly jumped off from my chair and ran out the door.

"Avalyn!?" I heard Riley shout from behind me.

I pulled the van door open and eventually climbed in. Oh, the benefits of being short…

"Viv?" I called out. I couldn't really see very well in the van, so I had to let her know I was there.

"Ava?" I turned around. There was only one person who called me Ava… Unluckily, it wasn't her.

"Riley? What are you doing?" I asked.

"I could ask you the same question." He shrugged calmly.

"I'm looking for Viv… I can't find her. Do you think she got kidnapped?"

"Ha!" Riley shook his head. "She probably just ran away. Don't worry, she can't be far. She knows she can't turn her own sister in."  
"You'd be surprised what she does…"

His eyes went wide. "Yeah, we should probably look for her…"

Beep, beep, beep…

"Avalyn? What are you doing?" Riley asked.

Beep, BEEP, boop…

"I'm calling Ian."

"What? That psycho?"

"Yes, that psycho. I have a feeling that he has something to do with this."

"I have a feeling that you're going crazy."

"I have a feeling that you should shut up before I shove a watermelon down your throat!"

There was a short pause, and Riley huffed. "Okay. You win…"

I heard a mumbling from the other side of the phone, and a familiar British voice answered.

"Yeah?"

"Uh, yes; this is Avalyn."

"Oh, Avalyn. I was expecting you to call."

"You were?"

"Yes. I think you know why too."

"What?"

He sighed, annoyed. "I have your sister."  
"I knew it!" I yelled into the phone.

"What?" Riley asked. "What happened?"

I held my finger up to quiet him. "What have you done with her?"

He cackled evilly. "I'll give her back if you and your pipsqueak boyfriend do as I say."

"He's not my… alright. We'll do it."

"Heh, you're really desperate aren't you?"  
"Huh?"

"Get your boyfriend to meet us at StakePark at 8.30 tonight. Bring no one." Okay, I swear he said that just to piss me off.

"Ok." I nodded.

"Ok."

"Fine."

"Fine!" He said.

"GOODBYE!" I hung up and sighed.

"What should we do?" Riley asked.

"I don't know… should we tell Ben?"

"I'm not sure… You know how dangerous Ian can be, but we can't betray Ben."

I looked down. This was going to be tough.

"Alright." Riley sat next to me. "I think I have a plan."

* * *

_Honestly, if I was Ava, I would just let Ian keep Vivian But hey, that's just me. Avalyn is much nicer ahaha! Please review if you like it :)_

_- Lollie_


	6. You're Not Alone

_Thank you to everyone who reviewed. You make writing this all worth it :)_

_- Lollie_

* * *

"Your dad's got a sweet ride…" Riley told Ben. He looked so tired. I didn't blame him. A lot has happened in these past few days.

"I think we should change clothes." Ben said to me, ignoring Riley.

"I think we should change cars…"

Ben also ignored me. "We might look conspicuous, don't you think?"  
"I would love to shop," Riley said sarcastically, "but we have no money."

"I have money." I pulled out my purse and handed it to him.

"How are we going to get there?" Riley asked. "I'm hungry… This car smells weird."  
"Stop being childish." Ben muttered.

"What's up your butt, Ben?" I joked.

"You want to know what?" He asked.

He was kind of scaring me, but I nodded hesitantly anyway.

"We're breaking the law. I pulled my dad into it. Your sister ran away. She'll probably go to the FBI. We'll go to jail, and it will all be MY FAULT!"

My mouth was open at that point. "Ben, I…"

"Forget it!" He stopped the carat the side of the road and got out slamming the door shut behind him.

"Do you think we should go after him?" Riley asked calmly.

I glared at him. "Stay here, Riley. Or go shopping. Just do something. I'll go talk to Ben."

"Are you sure, I mean I could just…"

"Please? I need to talk to him for a minutes."

"Hmm… fine. I'll wait for you here."

"Thank you." I closed the car door. "Ben?" I ran after him. It was hard to keep up with that guy. "Ben! BEN!"

"_What do you want?_" Ben snapped, turning around. I have to admit… that hurt. I tried my best to help him with his Dad, I stuck up for him when he was getting pushed around, and I agreed to help him stop Ian and I journeyed with him to get the treasure. He just acted like I was useless… like I was a burdan to him and Riley. Everything I said seemed to have an effect. Why didn't he want me to help him?

"Just…" I couldn't think of any words. I ran back to Riley. I heard Ben shout my name a few times, but I ignored him so he could realise what it felt like.

"Holy shiz, Avalyn. Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm perfect… Bloody amazing."

"I know that's sarcasm."

"Okay, fine. He yelled at me."

"What? Why?"

"I don't even know! He's so upset."

"I'm more worried about you…"

"I'm fine."

"No your not."

"Yes I am."

"AVALYN!" Ben opened the door. "I'm so so so so so so so so…."

"I get it…"

"Sorry!"

"It's fine."

"No it's not!" Ben shook his head. "I guess I'm just worried about Viv… not only because she could tell the FBI about where we're going, but because she could be in trouble. What if Ian got her?"

Riley and I exchanged worried glances. "Wait…" Ben eyed us. "Are you two hiding something?"

"Uhm," I started, "Ben, we have a confession…"

"Uh, uhm…" Riley bit his lip. "We're together!"

"What?" Ben and I said at the same time. Wait… that was his distraction. We couldn't tell Ben. Maybe we should just keep it a secret from him…

"Oh, yeah…" I tried to smile as Riley put his arm around my shoulder. Oh dear… That was so awkward.

"Wow… congrats, guys."

"Mhmm…" I bit my lip. That can't be good.

"Since when?" Ben asked.

"Uhh…" I thought for a minute, trying to come up with a convincing lie. "Do you remember when he ran after me when I went into the van to check up on Viv?"

"Yeah."

"Since then."

"Wow, I knew that would happen! I was waiting for this…"

"What?" Riley asked. "Really? You really think we'd be a good couple?"

That idiot! I glared at him, receiving an "oops" back. He almost blew it…

"Well, let's get some new clothes, Ava."

I nodded, mouthing "I hate you" to Riley. He just smiled back innocently.

Jerkface.

* * *

This wasn't good. Not good at all! Ben and I went shopping to get some new clothes while Riley went to figure out a few codes from the Declaration. Ben was so upset about something, and I didn't even know why! I was pretty sure it was about Viv, but not entirely sure.

Soon, in about seven more hours, Riley and I will sneak off into the park to find Ian and bring back Viv. The only problem was – we had absolutely no idea what he wanted us to do. Perhaps we should have told Ben?

_Maybe I should tell him now_, I thought.

"Hey Ava?" Ben asked from the other dressing room.

"Yeah?" I answered, trying to get myself to fit into a pretty pair of navy skinny jeans that were too small. What? It was the only size there… and they were pretty!

"Do you think Viv is mad at us?"

"Well, uhmm…" I bit my lip as I zipped up the zipper on my wedges.

"Avalyn… are you hiding something?"

"Pffftt… no…" I opened the door to my dressing room and walked out, checking myself out in the mirror. "Of course not!" Okay, that sounded pretty suspicious actually.

"I know you're lying." He stepped out in his new outfit.

"Nice clothes…" I told him.

"Don't change the subject."

"I'm not!" I defended myself, acting hurt. "Seriously though, I wish I was a guy just so I could wear that!"

"Avalyn." He warned.

"Fine!" I sat down on the chair next to the door and sighed. "Riley and I… we're not together. At all. Seriously though…" I scrunched up my nose. "Ew."  
"What?"

"Come on! You didn't really think I would go out with him did you? He's like a brother to me… a very irritating and annoying brother."  
"No, I mean… why did he lie about that?"

I bit my lip once again. "He covered for me… bless him…"  
"Covered what? And why would Riley want to help you?"

"I don't even know… But, uhm. Do you remember when I said Viv ran away?"

"Yes…"  
"I lied. Ian kidnapped her. He told Riley and I to meet at Stake Park at 8:30 tonight. I didn't want to tell you because it would distract you from the treasure… which meant Ian would get a hold of it before you. Also, he threatened us. Riley promised that he would help me get my sister back, but you went through so much. Honestly, neither of us wanted to tell you. I suppose now that we should've."

"Yes," Ben said through gritted teeth, "you should've… But we need to get your sister back, now!"

"I was afraid you would say that…" I heaved a sigh. "We can't Ben. Don't you understand? Ian won't hurt Viv. He just wants to distract us so he can find the treasure."

"Oh, we'll give him a distraction all right… but he won't like it."


	7. Untouchable

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Ben?" I whispered to my earpiece.

"Yes. It will definitely work – even Riley thought it was a good idea."

I glanced at Riley, who was munching happily on fairy floss (or, as he liked to call it, cotton candy). Of course he would think leading Ian's groupies to the other side of town would be a good idea… only because he got to 'take a break' and visit the carnival! I groaned helplessly.

"What?" He asked, his mouth still full of cotton candy. There was probably a little left over corn dog in there as well.

"Can I ask why you're eating fair food while we're on a mission?"

"Can I ask why you're wearing ugg boots with shorts?" He retorted.

"What do you care about what I wear? I'm still sick." I sniffled. "Anyway, I can afford to do it. I'm Australian."

"That's your excuse for everything." He mumbled, staring hopefully at a stand that said 'rainbow unicones'. Yes, you guessed right. That was an ice cream stand. Jeez, the things they have at American fairs.

"What I mean to say," I handed the money to the store owner, holding two fingers up and pointing to the chocolate flavoured ice cream in an attempt to buy it while adjusting my ear piece _and_ talking to Riley, "is that Australia has weird weather. Sometimes its hot and then twenty minutes later its cold. You have to be fully prepared. Thanks, bro." I grabbed the two ice creams and handed one to Riley.

Riley gave the man the money. "So? You're not in Australia. Besides, no one says 'bro'."

"They do in Australia." I licked my ice cream and smirked.

"UGGGHHHH!" Riley groaned loudly. "You're so annoying!"

"Speak for yourself, mate."

He glared at me even more for saying that, and I just cracked up laughing.

He licked his ice cream while still glaring, and I pointed at his icecream. "Your welcome for that, you know."

"What? I paid for it!"

"Yeah, but I ordered it."

"Ugh!" Riley put both his index fingers to his temples and rubbed them calmly, breathing slowly. "Ben. Get me out of here. I'm actually starting to think it would be easier it Avalyn was the one who was kidnapped."

"Hey!" I put my hands to my hips and pouted.

"Riley!" Ben told him calmly. "We have to distract Ian's crew. If I know Ian, and I do, he will try to kidnap Ava to get twice the prize. His group is following you already, and by the looks of it, they aren't far behind."  
"What?" I turned my head around and saw Shaw and Powell pushing a few kids out of the way so they could see us.

Riley grabbed my shoulders and turned me so I faced back in front.

"Just… be cool, okay? Act natural."

"Gotcha." I whispered to Ben.

"Where are you anyway?" Riley asked. "What's your part in this?"

"I'm outside Ian's place. He's trying to decipher the riddle… but I don't know where Vivian is. I'm going to break in from the guest bedroom upstairs and I'll see where that leads me without getting caught. Wish me luck. Turn your earpieces off to not cause any sudden sounds or further suspicions, but just turn it on again if you need anything."

"Good luck." I turned my earpiece off.

"Roger." Riley saluted mockingly, clicking the earpiece off.

"You know he can't see you, right?"

"Just keep walking, or you'll be fish food for Ian's little dogs." Riley grabbed my arm.

"Dogs eat fish food?" I questioned.

Riley being Riley, ignored my comment, and instead dragged me into an alley way leading to some haunted house. "Hopefully this will distract them for a while."

"Shit!" I heard Shaw say. "We lost them."

Riley pushed me into the door way and into the dark house. I faintly heard Powell mumble, "Ian won't be happy… why would those kids even want to go to a fairground at a time like this?"

Part of me wanted to yell, "WE"RE NOT KIDS!", but 1) I'm not stupid. We would obviously be kidnapped and held for ransom if I did that, and Ben would never forgive me for that… Also, 2) Riley pulled me further into the hallway of the haunted house.

I swear that I heard Shaw mutter, "It must be a trap!" but I ignored that.

"What are you doing? I can hardly see in here."

"We're going to blow up balloon animals. What do you think we're doing? Hiding. Distracting Ian's 'pets'. Trying to get your sister back…"  
"Yeah I know that, but…" I bit my lip. "Why do we have to go in a haunted house?"

Riley smirked. "What? Are you scared!"

"N-no… it's just…" I gulped. Suddenly, a wild, hairy thing appeared and hit me with its belly. I screamed, almost knocking Riley over. I presumed it was just some guy dressed as a possessed teddy bear, and not big foot.

I slammed into a wall with my back. "Oww…"

"Ava? Where are you?" I could hear Riley's voice echoing into the distance.

I was too shocked to move. Actually, I couldn't move!

The wall was turning around, and I ended up in another room. I felt rubber arms holding me against the wall, but they suddenly let go once the wall finished its 180 degree turn. I tried to feel my way through the cramped room, feeling more and more claustrophobic every second. I felt a lever, and tried to pull it downwards. I yanked and heaved, even putting my feet against the wall to tug it, but nothing worked.

I felt arms wrap around me and I squealed, trying to elbow the guy in the ribs and kick him in the… you know, 'parts'.

"Relax, it's just me." I heard Riley whisper.  
My shoulders relaxed a little and I felt less tense.

"C'mon, the guys are probably at the other end of the carnival by now. Let's find a way out."

He held one of my hands and led me to where he thought the exit was.

My heart was pounding. I didn't even know why!

"Are you okay?" I looked up to the shadow that was Riley staring down at me and bit my lip again.

"Yeah… I'm just…"

"Scared?"

I sighed. "A little." That was the only response he would get from me. But, that was technically admitting my fears.

"GAHAHHH!" A person dressed like a zombie tackled us against the wall. Just as quick as I screamed, it ran away.

"Look!" He pointed to a door with light coming from underneath it. "Finally, a way out. Let's get out of this freak show!"

We ran out of the door just as our earpieces beeped.

The last thing we heard before we sprinted out of the carival was, "It's done. Meet us in the car in 10."

"How he did that, I would never know." Riley joked.

We were then off to find the Templar Treasure.


End file.
